215. Beauty Clear and Fair

John Fletcher. 1579-1625


BEAUTY clear and fair,
      Where the air
Rather like a perfume dwells;
  Where the violet and the rose
  Their blue veins and blush disclose,
And come to honour nothing else:

      Where to live near
      And planted there
Is to live, and still live new;
  Where to gain a favour is
  More than light, perpetual bliss--
Make me live by serving you!

Dear, again back recall
      To this light,
A stranger to himself and all!
  Both the wonder and the story
  Shall be yours, and eke the glory;
I am your servant, and your thrall.

The Oxford Book of English Verse, HTML edition